what would I do without you?
by sarfateith
Summary: How did Quinn get pink hair? Story about the summer before 3x01 and up to 3x14—and a little further. T for suggestive themes at the end. Quinntina with mentions of Tike.


_**A/N: My first ever Quinntina fic! *cheers* ANYWAY, tell me how I do with it!**_

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><p>It starts the summer before Tina's junior year. She's relaxing in her room, texting Mike about her plans for the next day, when she's interrupted by her phone. The ringtone, <em>Born This Way<em>, blares from within her hands, and she rolls her eyes as she picks it up, expecting it to be her parents.

"Hello?" The response on the other end surprises her.

"Hi Tina. It's Quinn. Can I ask you something?"

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><p>The blonde shows up the next day, a smile on her face. Tina answers the door quickly, so that her parents don't wonder what's going on.<p>

"So you're thinking of dyeing your hair?" Tina asks, inviting Quinn to sit on the nearby couch with her.

"Yeah. I want to move on from my past…you know? Put everything behind me and really _find_ myself. I figured I'd ask you because you've got the most hair dye experience out of the entire Glee club. Except for Kurt, because he'd _kill_ me if I told him." They both laugh at the comment, because it's true and they know it.

"That's great that you want to move on, Quinn, but…I'm not sure dyeing your hair is going to help you really find yourself…" The Asian girl hesitates, trying not to be rude.

"Oh, I know." Quinn smiles. "I just think it'll steer me in the right direction." Tina nods in agreement.

"So let's get started!" They walk up the stairs, Quinn holding onto the tiny bag with the hair-dye kit inside it. Tina leads the way to the bathroom, and both of the girls sit on the tub, door closed, hair dye at the ready. The blonde girl begins to read off the instructions from the box, but the other girl puts a hand over them and smiles.

"Quinn, I've done this _a lot_. I know what to do. Now, you've gotta run your head under some water before we actually _start_ the bleaching process…"

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><p>Quinn said she'd call when she was ready to go clothes shopping. That was two weeks ago.<p>

She still hasn't called. Tina looks at her phone in annoyance. A pang of sadness hits her as she scrolls through the texts they had shared, though—she had thought they were friends. She opens a new message, types in Quinn's number, and begins to write.

_**You wanna go shopping 2day?**_

She sends it, and almost immediately she gets a reply.

_**Who is this?**_

Tina throws her phone to the ground, angry tears forming in her eyes. It shouldn't bother her as much as it did.

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><p>The first day of school ends up coming faster than she expected, and she's really excited to be back in Glee club. She kisses Mike good morning at his locker and they begin to walk to their first class—thankfully, they've got a lot of them together this year—when the crowd of students seems to part. And suddenly, she's looking at Quinn Fabray walk by. Only, it's not Quinn. It's a darker, punker Quinn than she had <em>ever<em> seen, with baggy black clothes and a miserable expression on her face.

"Quinn?" Tina asks in a small whisper. The punk former-Cheerio turns on a heel and steps only inches from her.

"Tina," Quinn replies in a low, husky voice that sounds nothing at all like her old self. "What do you want?" Tina grabs the pink haired girl by the wrist and drags her away, leaving her boyfriend staring after her in confusion. They end up in an empty classroom, where the door is slammed shut and locked behind them.

"What the _hell_ is this?" Tina practically screams, gesturing towards her outfit.

"_This_ is me finding myself, Tina! Why can't you be happyfor me and just let me move on?"

"Because, Quinn, this isn't how you're going to find yourself! You can't just bury your problems underneath a new clique! It's not going to work! You're too good of a person to fall into this…this hole! Nothing is going to change unless you actually do something, Fabray! Nothing!" Tina turns and storms away, enraged that her friend has turned into some horrible punk _thing_. Is Quinn even her friend anymore? She can't remember.

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><p><strong>Quinn? Are u there?<strong>

**Im sorry 4 the way I treated u yesterday.**

**Q, plz listen 2 me. Im sorry. I rlly am.**

_**It'd mean more if u said it 2 my face.**_

**I will, I promise!**

Tina sits on her bed, waiting for a response. Waiting for the chance to truly apologize. When the phone vibrates, she opens the message quickly and reads it.

_**Meet me the park later. 2:30. If u show ill listen.**_

She throws a fist in the air, because she's got a plan to get Quinn back to her normal self, and it goes into affect _now_.

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><p>When Tina shows up at the park, she immediately looks for the pink hair she'd gotten so used to seeing.<p>

Instead, she finds blonde Quinn sitting under a tree, listening to her music. She's got a white sundress on, with matching flats, and when she hears the sound of Tina's shoes on the grass, she looks up and smiles a little.

"Hi," She says, looking down. I'm sorry I got rid of your work…" She mumbles. Tina chuckles a little, stepping closer to her.

"Don't worry…you look better this way." Tina says softly. They both laugh, somewhat awkwardly. "Listen, about what I said—I was completely out of line. If dyeing your hair is your way of finding yourself, then I'm all for it. As long as it works for you…" She smiles a bit. Quinn takes the dark haired girl's hands and rubs them affectionately.

"Thank you." Quinn's voice is barely a whisper. "I—thank you." She giggles nervously, and Tina smiles in reply.

"You're welcome." She pauses. "So…I've got to go now, but I'll see you—" She doesn't finish her sentence, because at that moment Quinn chooses to surge up from her seat beneath the tree and kiss Tina on the lips. Tina is stunned. And frightened. She breaks the kiss, stumbling backwards and almost falling to the ground.

"W—_what_?" She asks shakily, and Quinn turns red with embarrassment before reaching out tentatively, as if to touch her.

"Tina, I—" The blonde begins, her voice trembling. But Tina just walks away, her mind in complete turmoil. She gets home and sinks onto her bed, a pillow over her head, and wishes life could be somehow easier for the invisible girl she is.

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><p>They avoid each other at all costs. Weeks go by, and Tina spends her time lazily relaxing with her boyfriend. He doesn't know what happened between her and Quinn. And he won't, she firmly decides internally.<p>

Casually, she hears Quinn and Puck are trying to restart their old relationship. She'd almost buy the rumor, too, if it weren't for Puck's constant comments about not being a one-woman kind of guy. It makes her laugh, because she knows Puck won't change for Quinn. He won't change for _anyone_. She also knows the rumor is false because when Quinn isn't reprimanding her 'boyfriend' for being a disgusting pig, she's gazing longingly at Tina.

It scares her to think that she's looking back at Q, too.

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><p>Mr. Schue proposes to Ms. Pillsbury in a synchronized-swimming fashion. Everyone cheers as they kiss, and Tina somehow finds herself floating dangerously close to Quinn. They exchange a quick glance, and Quinn smiles adoringly. Though she's not sure who the smile is for—her or the newly engaged couple—Tina grins in return, the feeling that's blossoming in her chest making her euphoria so much more <em>real<em>.

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><p>Tina and Mike sing '<em>L.O.V.E<em>' together on Valentine's day. It's just for the two of them, for practice, and they dance around like they always do. Her pride for Mike's new singing voice makes her incredibly happy, but for some reason, the feeling of adoration she used to have with him just isn't there.

They kiss at the end of the song, quietly saying '_Love_' in unison. Tina can feel the sparks sizzling out. Her heart aches at the thought.

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><p>Quinn got hit by a car.<p>

_Quinn got hit by a car._

_QUINN GOT HIT BY A CAR._

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><p>"Mike, I'm so sorry. I love you, but…I'm not <em>in <em>love with you. I don't know what happened, but I'm attracted to someone else. I'm sorry." Tina whispers to him in the Auditorium a few days later. It seems to click with him, though, as his eyes look into hers with understanding.

"It's Quinn, isn't it?"

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><p>Tina walks into the hospital room, biting back tears as she sees her friend's twisted expression of pain in her unconsciousness. She looks over to one of the nurses, who pulls her aside.<p>

"She's in a half-coma, of sorts. She's responsive to some things, but she's still unconscious and won't wake up to any of our tests." He says quietly. "I'm sorry." Tina nods, trying not to cry, and watches as he and the rest of his team walk out. Quinn's face is covered in scars and she looks severely thin.

"Q—Quinn…" Tina chokes. "I'm s—so sorry this happened to you. I know I should have…should have _been there_ for you like I wanted to. But I was…afraid, of admitting something I wasn't even sure of." Tina sits next to the unmoving figure in the hospital bed, taking her hand and gently pressing her lips against it. "But I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not, and I promise, I wanna be there now. I left Mike, because I just want _you_. But I can't have you unless you wake up, and I—" She begins to cry, forgetting how she planned to finish the sentence. "I need you here, Quinn. You're my friend, you're my _closest_ friend and I can't lose you, not now, not ever!" The unconscious form of Quinn Fabray stays unconscious. "You're gonna make me come out and say it now, then? Alright. Lucy Quinn Fabray, I think I love you." The words are strangled as they come out, the tears tightening her throat and drowning her mind. She squeezes the blonde's hand. "Please, Quinn, just wake up."

She doesn't.

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><p>The phone rings.<p>

"Hello?"

"T—Tina?" Tina's heart stops for a second.

"_Quinn_…" She breathes, and she hears weak laughter on the other end.

"Yes, it's me." There's a pause. "You know, if you want to come to the hospital…" Tina hangs up the phone instantly.

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><p>The drive there is fast, and there's nothing that can stop her from walking into the hospital room and kissing Quinn full on the mouth.<p>

"I'm so sorry," She whispers against the blonde's lips. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I heard you, you know. When you said you thought you loved me…I heard that whole thing." There's a tear slowly making its way down Quinn's face. "And I just wanted to say…I think I love you too." Their lips meet again, this time savoring the flavor of their love.

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><p>They're in Tina's room, watching TV on her bed. It's one of those old horror movies, which both girls <em>adore<em>, and it's their first sleepover at the Cohen-Chang household since the day at the hospital. They're both dressed in pajamas, Tina in a black nightie and Quinn in white lace underwear with a matching bra.

"So, we're girlfriends now, right?" Tina asks with a mouthful of popcorn. Quinn giggles and leans up against her, resting her head against her girlfriend's bare shoulder.

"I guess…" She says with mock hesitation, and the younger girl swiftly finds a way to flip the blonde over and pin her against the bed, forgetting about the popcorn as it tumbles off of her lap and onto the floor. She begins pressing soft kisses against Q's collarbone, slowly moving upwards until she reaches the target—her lips. They kiss gently for a moment, forgetting about the show. But as Quinn's fingers tangle in Tina's hair, the kiss deepens fast. Lips on necks, skin touching skin, hands everywhere…it's something that, a year ago, neither girl would have admitted to wanting. But as the little wanton mewls come from below her, Tina realizes how much better she feels here, Quinn Fabray in her arms.

They end up falling asleep tangled in each other, Quinn's head against Tina's chest, Tina's surrounded by blonde hair. It's the best night's sleep either of them have had since the car crash.

Quinn wakes up first. She gently strokes Tina's dark hair against the pillows and hums quietly to a tune she can't remember the name of.

"What would I do without you, Tina?"

She doesn't want to think about it.

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><p><em><strong>AN: R&R? :) thankyou.**_


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